Factory 81 – Interview

The biggest impact a heavy band can make now is in Mtv or radio picking them up, being heard amongst the Limp-Korn-Roach mass that has washed out any hope of talented metal bands truly making it. Factory 81 knows what they’re up against, and they don’t really give a shit. They’re not planning on becoming rock icons, but instead are hoping to open up eyes and ears to reality that has become one where the hideousness of life is covered with sappy news of trivial nothingness that people hide with. It’s a sick, sick world, and they’re just out to have a good time, maybe earning a buck or two on the way. We chatted with skin-basher Andy about the life and times of one of Michigan’s more impressive hard hitters.

So what’s happening with Factory 81?

At the moment we’re just chilling out. We just finished a tour with Downset, and we’re just trying to take it easy for a few weeks. Then we start up a tour on April 5th with Slaves On Dope for about a month.

Cool. Is the show on April 20th with them, or is that something else, like a 4/20 festival?

I don’t know if it’s actually a 4/20 festival, but I’m sure it’ll turn out to be, with the bands playing and where it’s at. It’s some radio station out there, and we set that show up before we booked with Slaves On Dope. As of now, I know Monster Magnet, Hed(pe), Nonpoint, Systematic, and us. There may be a few others. It should be a cool show though.

Give me a history of the band to get people reading this a little more familiar with your background.

Actually, I was the last one to join the band. Bill and Kevin pretty much started this. They’ve been playing together for seven years in a couple of bands, then Nate joined about three years ago, then they lost their drummer. That’s how I got in. The four of us have been together for three years now. We put out an independent release on a label called Madia, in Detroit. That was Mankind, and that’s the album that is out now. It got picked up by Universal about a year later, and that’s where we are now.

The album has been done for two years and you’ve had a chance to sit back, play the shit out of it, and experience it. Has your view changed about it at all, with all the heavy music that’s around now?

It’s strange. It was such a low budget album that when we recorded it, we had no idea it would actually end up where it did at a major label, being distributed nationwide. We did that for twenty-five hundred dollars. It was cool, we didn’t spend a hundred and fifty grand on it and it ended up coming out really good. It sounds kind of raw, almost like a live feel to it. When we sit back and listen to it, there are always thing that we hear that make it sound kind of low budget, but that’s what is really cool about it.

Is it still reflective of your band now compared to two years ago?

Yeah. Our live shows especially. We’re a live band and that energy is always there. We’ve been playing these songs now for three years, but it still reflects us. The new material that we’re working on is headed in a different direction. I think it’s evolved musically, but not totally different. We’re experimenting with some things and trying to take it to a different level.

Have you recorded any of the stuff you’ve written?

Not yet. I think we might demo four new songs while we’re home. We’re still in the writing process, and only four or five songs are really done. I don’t think we’ll be recording another album for at least another half a year, or depending on how long the album is around.

Why did you choose Mojo Records over anyone else?

Mojo is really cool. For us being a brand new band, and being heavy, which Mojo didn’t have at the time, it was cool to get the attention of a smaller label. We needed it, but it still had the power of Universal to distribute it. More than anything, they were the label that believed in us most. Unfortunately, Mojo and Universal just parted less than a month ago. So as of now, it’s just Universal. They picked up the contract so it’s been cool. There are a couple of guys there who were still really interested in the project, and they helped us out from the beginning. There haven’t been changes. It’s the same people. It didn’t slow down anything. It worked out well for us.

What kind of response have you gotten from the video that’s being aired on Mtv?

It started airing not too long ago, but we’ve run across some people on the road who’ve seen it. It’s just a really good opportunity for us. I think the video is a perfect replica of the album. It’s not high budget, it’s all really us, low budget, just jamming at this club called the Wire Trog in Detroit, and that’s where our whole thing began. That’s where we built the local following. And the video is something we did with the people we knew, and for the people who didn’t know us and were curious about how we were in a live setting.

Do you think it’s kind of difficult to be heard without being painted into a corner now, with the abundance of heavy bands in the mainstream?

I think there’s a lot of commercial bands that people categorize. But I think we’re a much heavier and deeper band than most of the shit they play all day on radio and Mtv.

You’re way more ferocious.

Exactly. That’s why you’re not going to see the video on Mtv or during the day, unless it’s on The Rock Show. A lot of radio stations shy away from it, and that’s just it. We’re a touring band. We go out and do our thing, kind of establishing a grassroots following. I don’t think we’ll ever be one of the commercial bands you’ll see on Mtv all day long. We’re cool with what we’re doing.

Who impresses you most right now?

We’re big fans of Hed(pe), Mudvayne. We’ve done more shows with Mudvayne than probably anyone else. We were on their tour right before they kind of broke. I think we learned a lot from touring with those guys. They put on an insane live show, and they are really good at what they do. They just pour energy.

What are the plans for the summer?

As of now, we just plan on touring. We’ll pretty much take any offers we can get. We don’t want to do a big headlining thing yet. It’s easier to get your sound out when you’re with someone else. We’d like to hook up with a big festival. Tattoo The Earth is supposed to be going to Europe this year. That’s somewhere we’d like to go by the end of the year.

Cool. That’s everything. Anything you want to say?

Just thanks to all the people who’ve supported us and come to shows. We’re hoping we can get hooked up so we can tour all over, so look forward to that. We are.

+ rick hinkson